Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 83

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 83
83. Giant Zombie (4)
Filling the Baseball Field with oiled clothes, bedding, and bone beads stretched into the next day.
Not only was the field vast, but they’d lost time trying to reach it while avoiding the Giant Zombie’s gaze.
Still, thanks to Seo A-rin keeping watch from the rooftop and tracking the creature’s movements against the north wind, they’d managed to pack the field full, and once Lee Gang-hyuk and Seo Hwa-rin finished their preparations, they returned to the Base to conduct a final equipment check and ready themselves for battle with the Giant Zombie.
* * *
The day after all preparations to fight the Giant Zombie were complete, the three gathered armed in the Security Room early in the morning.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!”
“I’m ready too! We’ll burn it all down!”
The two women nodded eagerly at Lee Gang-hyuk’s question, their enthusiasm burning bright.
From their perspective, the fact that he intended to capture rather than avoid the Giant Zombie was enough to assure their victory—they felt no anxiety.
Lee Gang-hyuk, witnessing their boundless enthusiasm, showed his satisfaction, believing they could certainly win.
But enthusiasm alone wouldn’t carry the day.
To brief them on the final operation, Lee Gang-hyuk unfolded a map on the table and turned to face them both.
“Before we depart, I should tell you: we’ve decided not to lure the Abominable Being. Upon reflection, there are far fewer variables I can control than I thought, making the risk substantial. So I’m going to lure it directly and drag it to the Baseball Field myself. Please take a moment to review the map regarding this.”
As he spoke, the two women looked at the map spread on the table, and Lee Gang-hyuk reached out his hand.
“First, we move to the Baseball Field along the stream, do a final check here, then head to Dobong Station to lure the creature. If we encounter any other zombies along the way, we retreat immediately. The retreat routes are here and here.”
Lee Gang-hyuk pointed to the marked locations on the map as he explained, his throat dry, so he took a drink of water before continuing.
“If circumstances don’t allow us to use the retreat routes, we’ll move through the park here to Surak Mountain, then head toward Jangam Station and return to the Base. Study the route carefully now.”
The two women silently committed every marked route to memory without error.
Once they both nodded, Lee Gang-hyuk asked back.
“Any questions?”
“None.”
“Me neither!”
“Good. Then let’s move immediately.”
The briefing was over.
All that remained was to kill the Giant Zombie.
With their determination reignited one final time, they stepped out of the Base with solemn faces.
…….
Once outside, the three headed not toward Dobong Station but Dobongsan Station.
It was to descend along the stream from the Botanical Garden beyond Dobongsan Station.
Fortunately, they encountered neither zombies nor Abominable Beings on the way, but since apartment complexes crowded the far side of the stream, the three maintained silence and moved slowly.
Because of this, their pace slowed and time continued to slip away, yet they felt no urgency and simply kept their eyes forward.
And so…….
A distance that would normally take thirty minutes at a slow walk took nearly an hour, but they managed to enter the Baseball Field safely.
“A-rin, please use the Water Snake to confirm its location. Once we have its position, we’ll use the skill to lure it.”
“Understood!”
Splash—!
When they’d checked before gathering at the Security Room, it had been sitting quietly at Dobong Station.
But because it had kept moving toward Banghak Station over the past two days, Lee Gang-hyuk asked Seo A-rin to confirm the Giant Zombie’s location, and she immediately summoned the Water Snake, recalling how she’d observed it from the rooftop, and sent it beyond Dobong Station.
She recalled observing it from the rooftop before and sent the Water Snake beyond Dobong Station.
“……It’s not there. It seems to have moved toward Banghak Station in the meantime.”
“Hmm. Then let’s wait here for a moment.”
Lee Gang-hyuk, responding immediately to the news that the Giant Zombie wasn’t there, examined the apartment complexes surrounding the Baseball Field while stroking his chin.
‘Those creatures really need to stay quiet…….’
To take down the Giant Zombie, they couldn’t let the aggro of the zombies in the lair be drawn.
But that was unlikely to happen, so they needed to move fast and decisively, killing the Giant Zombie as quickly as possible and withdrawing.
The one silver lining was that thanks to the Jungnang-gu Alliance clearing out the external zombies, most of what remained were sheltering inside buildings.
Perhaps because of that.
Lee Gang-hyuk exhaled a sigh, hoping desperately that he could proceed with his plan without incident and eliminate the Giant Zombie.
Then…….
“Kueeeeeeeek!!”
The roar of the Giant Zombie echoed out.
The direction was south—where Banghak Station lay.
It seemed to have found prey there.
“Once it finishes feeding, it’ll return to Dobong Station. We’ll lure it then.”
“Understood!”
“I’ll withdraw the Water Snake for now!”
The moment he heard the roar, Lee Gang-hyuk urgently spoke to both women while straining to listen.
Though the distance was too great to see what was happening, he wanted to gauge the situation by sound.
Bang—!
Crash!
Immediately, tremendous explosive sounds erupted one after another, as if it had begun its hunt.
‘Hmm?’
But something seemed off.
The sounds it made now were subtly different from those during its previous hunts.
Of course…….
Up until now, he’d mostly watched its fights from the rooftop without hearing them clearly.
But compared to the sounds he’d heard when it fought the Abominable Being recently, these seemed different, and Lee Gang-hyuk’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Doesn’t something sound different?”
Seo Hwa-rin had also noticed the different quality of the sounds, and she voiced her suspicion.
Lee Gang-hyuk, who’d initially thought he’d misheard, opened his mouth with a stiffened expression.
“It seems like it’s engaged in combat with something other than an Abominable Being.”
“Something else? Could it possibly be survivors?”
“I’m not certain. It could be, or it might be another Mutated Zombie.”
It would have been ideal if there were high ground nearby…… Unfortunately, the only tall building around the Baseball Field was an apartment complex.
Moreover, hearing only sound made it impossible to determine the situation or identify the opponent, so approaching the fight was out of the question.
Because of this, Lee Gang-hyuk shook his head, desperately hoping they weren’t survivors.
“Let’s wait until the situation concludes. Whoever its opponent is, our safety is the priority right now.”
“……Understood.”
At his words to wait, bitterness rose in both women’s faces.
Lee Gang-hyuk too.
And them as well.
They all instinctively sensed that those battling the Giant Zombie were survivors.
Please, let them be wrong.
Let their instincts be mistaken this time…….
The three exhaled sighs, listening to the sounds that reached them from afar.
Then it happened.
Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression twisted.
A nameless anxiety washed over him.
At the same time…….
He understood its source.
Survivors.
What if survivors died to that creature?
Until now, the Giant Zombie had mostly hunted and consumed Abominable Beings.
Since they were already Mutated, they hadn’t infected it when eaten, just been consumed…….
But if a survivor died and became infected by it?
A new Giant Zombie might emerge.
‘But…….’
On the other hand, he grew anxious about helping these unknown people, fearing they might attack his group in return. He considered the possibility that before infection set in, they’d be eaten by the Giant Zombie…… then bit his lip and spun around urgently toward Seo Hwa-rin.
“Hwa-rin! Shoot fire into the sky! If whoever’s fighting the creature is a survivor, they’ll come this way!”
“Yes? Ah, understood!”
Startled by the sudden command, Seo Hwa-rin dashed out of the Baseball Field to fire the skill.
Since the Baseball Field was full of oiled clothes and bedding, she feared the fire might spread if she used the skill inside, so she moved outside.
A moment later…….
“Fire!”
Whoosh—!
Standing outside the Baseball Field, Seo Hwa-rin fired the flames skyward as Lee Gang-hyuk had instructed.
Boom—!
As the flames detonated high in the sky, the three’s gazes naturally turned toward the direction from which sound had been coming.
* * *
“Tch. Don’t close the distance! Stay as far back as possible and attack!”
“Yes!”
Jung A-ram, who’d been heading toward Lee Gang-hyuk’s Base carrying an item Park Mu-jin had given her as repayment for a debt, was walking along the Railway near Banghak Station when she encountered the Giant Zombie.
At first, she’d tried to avoid the creature and move elsewhere to complete the mission.
But the Giant Zombie’s relentlessness left no opportunity to shake it off, so they had no choice but to fight.
Thinking that if they managed to kill it, it would also help Lee Gang-hyuk, they formed a formation and engaged in battle, but the Giant Zombie proved far stronger than expected, with superior defense, making it difficult for her team alone to win.
Fortunately, since her team members were Rangers, they could evade the Giant Zombie’s attacks safely.
But even that alone seemed unlikely to improve their situation, so the moment Jung A-ram requested reinforcement from Park Mu-jin.
Boom—!
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from the sky.
It couldn’t have been a natural occurrence.
‘Someone’s nearby! Is it that person?’
Could it be Lee Gang-hyuk?
The only survivor she’d seen moving through this area was Lee Gang-hyuk, so he might have sent a signal.
But would someone as cautious as him really send a signal? That uncertainty meant she couldn’t be sure.
So while Jung A-ram briefly considered whether she should hold out until Park Mu-jin could provide support, she decided to leave it to chance.
‘Please.’
Hoping her judgment was correct, Jung A-ram turned to her team and shouted.
“Scatter!”
“Yes!”
* * *
‘The sound……. So they really were survivors?’
The moment the flames detonated, the sounds of combat stopped abruptly.
Lee Gang-hyuk grew concerned that he’d made a mistake and examined the direction of Banghak Station.
“Someone’s heading this way!”
At the same moment Seo Hwa-rin fired the flames, Seo A-rin, who’d sent the Water Snake toward Banghak Station, suddenly cried out in alarm.
She’d suspected as much, but to think they really were survivors.
“……Let’s hide!”
Hoping desperately that this wasn’t a needless intrusion, Lee Gang-hyuk shouted to both women and hastily concealed himself.
A moment later…….
“Kuoaaaaaaaak!!”
Boom! Boom!
The Giant Zombie’s horrific cry sounded from quite nearby, as if it were chasing the survivors.
Since he’d always intended to lure it to the Baseball Field anyway.
The fact that it had followed was excellent, but when the survivors themselves failed to appear, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression hardened.
What if…….
Those who’d seen the signal transferred the Giant Zombie’s aggro to themselves and were hiding nearby, planning a surprise attack later?
As this worry suddenly occurred to him, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression darkened.
When people suddenly emerged from the direction of Jungnang Stream.
‘Jung A-ram?’
Recognizing the survivors’ faces, Lee Gang-hyuk tilted his head in shock, delight, and bewilderment all at once, then immediately called out to her as she tried to enter the Baseball Field.
“This way!”
“!!”
The moment Lee Gang-hyuk raised his hand to signal, a smile bloomed on Jung A-ram’s face.
‘I wasn’t the only one who was anxious.’
Realizing that she too had been anxious after seeing his signal, Lee Gang-hyuk exhaled a breath, and Jung A-ram approached and pulled something from her bag, handing it to him.
What she gave him was a staff adorned with jewels.
“Why this, all of a sudden……?”
“It’s something the Captain told me to give to you. He said to repay a personal debt, so don’t feel burdened by it.”
“What? Now that you mention it, Park Mu-jin did send me a note not long ago…… What debt could I possibly owe?”
As Lee Gang-hyuk questioned this sudden offer, Jung A-ram pointed to the people who were currently drawing the Giant Zombie’s aggro.
“A situation similar to this one? It looks like you were trying to catch that creature too, right? We’ll cooperate with you.”
“That’s good to hear.”
At her words, Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes widened and he nodded, then immediately checked the staff’s information.
[Obsidian Staff]
– A staff crafted from obsidian infused with magical power and a special alloy imbued with mana.
– Magic Power +5
– Increased natural recovery rate of Mana and Core Power.
– Allows for more stable control of magical power.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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